After kicking off the season with two wins at home, Cornell women’s lacrosse hit the road to face off against its toughest opponent yet — No. 25 Penn State. Playing in hostile territory against a dangerous foe, the Red suffered its first loss of the season, 19-9.
While Cornell (2-1) already entered Sunday’s contest with a three-game losing streak to Penn State (4-0), the Nittany Lions’ suffocating defense and overpowering offense dashed any hope of a victory.
In the decisive first half, Penn State quickly jumped out to a 5-0 lead in less than 10 minutes. Despite the Red responding with two goals by sophomore midfielder Shannon Brazier and freshman midfielder Katie Castiello, the Nittany Lions scored four straight goals to make it 9-2 in their favor.
Before halftime, the Red was able to score two more goals thanks to senior attacker Caroline Allen and Brazier, but that was immediately countered by three more goals from Penn State.
Cornell’s offense could not match Penn State sophomore goalie Taylor Suplee’s outstanding performance in the net, as she recorded a career-high of 20 saves.
The Red did not fare much better in the second half as the Nittany Lions stormed out of the break and quickly tallied three more goals. While Cornell put up five goals in the backend of the contest, it could not erase the deficit.
Despite the dismal outcome of the game, freshman midfielder Annie Thomas provided a lone highlight to the day. Thomas broke the school record for most draw controls in a game, recording 11. The previous record of 10 was set by Sarah Hefner in 2013 and tied by Joey Coffy in 2018.
The Red hopes to bounce back in an Ivy League tilt against Harvard on Saturday at 1 p.m. in Cambridge, Mass.